armed with apologies
by arilovexo
Summary: "Laura, you are the first, the last and the only woman I have ever loved." In which, Ross and Laura realize that their feelings for each other never went away and that their history has to stay in the past if they ever want to move forward and get their happily ever after. Ross/Laura Rydel/Ellington


_So this might not make sense. I don't know. It's long than I thought it was going to be and I wrote it to hopefully get inspired to finish up the next Don't Let Go update as well as Timeless. So, great news, it kinda worked! Yayyy._

 _Also, I just want to say that this has a line from 90210 in it, you'll probably spot it if you see it but I've been watching it when I've had time to for the last few weeks and Liam is my fav character. He is the cutest and the hottest and I just love him. Even if he comes off as an ass, he's got a big heart and I really like that about him. Matt Lanter is awesome._

 _If you can catch the Degrassi reference too, then you win everything._

 _The song that Laura and Ross are listening to towards the end, after the dinner by the way is called Honor On the Run by Martinez & Guthrie. It pretty much inspired the feel of the story. It's a good song so check it out._

 _I wrote Andrew as a controlling jerk here, sorry. I also made Courtney very easy going, sorry. And yeah. I honestly don't know if this makes sense or if it's one of the shittiest and cheesiest things I've ever written._

 _I hope you enjoy. I don't own anything._

* * *

 _Don't forget, Cheesy… we have dinner tonight. Double date. You, me, Courtney and Andrew._

Ross sighed, sliding his finger across the screen, he looked up at his girlfriend a moment before looking back down at his phone.

 _Yeah, we'll be there._ He texted back.

"Who was that?" Courtney asked him.

"Laura." He responded, "we're double dating with her and Andrew."

He got another text back.

 _Rydel and Ellington are going too. Remind them._

"And apparently my sister and Ellington." Ross added sending her back a quick _okay_. "So it's a triple date, I guess."

"Where to?" Courtney turned her body towards him.

He shrugged, "she's picky as shit, so wherever she decides to go I guess."

Courtney nodded and then focused her attention back on the television. Ross just sighed and adjusted himself so that he was more comfortable and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was go out to dinner with Laura and her boyfriend. He didn't like him and even tried to warn her about him, but she brushed him off.

After all, she had reminded him. They had their chance. He ruined it. And it was nobody's fault but his.

* * *

Laura flipped her phone closed and tapped it as she looked up at her sister.

"Going on a triple date tonight?" Vanessa asked as she grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.

She nodded, "good memory."

"I still don't understand why you agreed to it. Obviously you both have some unresolved feelings and it's not going to get better if you just… act like they aren't there." Vanessa leaned in closer to her. "You have to tell him how you feel."

"And by him, you mean…" Laura asked, moving her hands with her words.

"I mean, Ross." She said. "I know you still have strong feelings for him, stronger feelings than you have for Andrew."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing." Vanessa told her. "You've been bitchy and pissy since you found out Ross got a girlfriend. Yeah, he might have ruined everything but it wasn't entirely his fault. You've got to take some blame too."

"I wasn't the one-" Laura tried again but Vanessa just shrugged, holding her hands up as she backed out of the kitchen.

"I've got to go read my script, but you, you just think about that. You deserve your happily ever after." She said and Laura sighed, defeated, she just nodded her head.

She couldn't argue with Vanessa. After all, she was right.

And Laura hated that she had to admit that, even to herself.

* * *

"So uh, are we all going in one car or are you guys going to drive separately?" Ross asked as he twirled his keyes around his fingers. Rydel and Ellington were just coming down the stairs. Once Rydel reached the bottom step, she looked behind him to see that Courtney was deeply engaged in a conversation with Riker, Savannah and Rocky. She looked back at her brother.

"You know that I love Courtney right? With all my heart." She said.

Ross gave her a strange look, "yeah, what does that have to do with-"

"You need to tell Laura the truth. About what happened that night and about how you feel." She cut him off.

Ross just gave her a strange look.

"Even if she doesn't want to hear it, you need to tell her."

"I'm confused." Ross said, "you just told me about how much you love Courtney."

Rydel nodded. "I did. But I love you much, much more, Ross. You're my brother, we shared a room together, we share everything with each other, you were the first to figure out about Ellington and I becoming a couple, okay? I want you to be happy, like I am with him."

"He is also standing right beside you." Ellington spoke and Rydel and Ross looked at him. He smiled, "thanks for saying that by the way."

She smiled back, "you know it's true."

"That's what I want," Ross sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I want what you both have. It's special."

"And it's not with Courtney." Rydel told him, breaking her gaze away from Ellington's. "You've said countless times that you haven't seen anybody more in love than us, but the truth is, I've never seen anybody more in love than you and Laura."

"She's right," Ellington agreed. "I haven't seen anyone more in love than you two either."

"Rocky, Riker, Ryland, mom, dad, Maia, Grace, Raini and especially Calum would agree with us." Rydel said. She gave Ross a small smile, "so, just go for it. Take a chance. I did. And look where I am now."

He smiled, remembering that those were his exact words to her two years before. Right when Ellington had broken up with his girlfriend and they found out about it, Ross encouraged her to go for it. He said those words and it had given her the courage to tell him she wanted him to kiss her. Though he had shot her down at first, he later told her that he wanted to kiss her privately and for about a week, it was, until Ross found out they were holding hands under a blanket on the beach and had flipped out. It had all worked out in the end and Rydel had Ross to thank for giving her the courage to go for it. Now, he just needed the courage to do the same.

"Okay." He said, "I'll do it."

Ellington and Rydel smiled at him and he just smiled back at him, until he turned around and noticed his girlfriend was still in conversation with Riker and Savannah. Rocky seeming to have mysteriously disappeared somewhere.

He gave her a small smile and she smiled back at him, waving.

"And to answer your question, we'll drive separately." Rydel told him and with that, she walked passed him, into the living room to tell Courtney they were ready to leave.

"Good luck." Ellington said and Ross turned back around to face him. "you so got this."

Ross could only hope he did.

* * *

Laura's leg was bouncing up and down underneath the table as she sat beside Andrew in the restaurant. Her knee had hit the table for about the sixth time.

"Jeez, can you relax?" Andrew asked her. "It's just Ross, Rydel and Ellington. You've seen them many times before."

"It's not Ross or Rydel or Ellington I'm worried about. It's his girlfriend. I've only met her once at the Show of the Summer Concert or something like that, I don't remember. I'm just anxious to see her again." Laura responded back, though she wasn't being completely honest with him.

She was so damn nervous about seeing Ross again too.

"Well, cool it. Your nervous twitching is annoying me." Andrew's tone wasn't friendly. Laura didn't like it.

"That's mature." She responded back.

"You're annoying."

"Fuck off." Laura snapped. "I'm anxious, leave me alone."

"Is that anyway to talk to your boyfriend?" Andrew asked her.

She didn't answer, just glared at him. She wanted nothing more than to dump his sorry, jealous, controlling ass, but she couldn't. She didn't want it to seem like she dumped him because she was still in love with Ross. Which was only partly true, but she couldn't deal with Andrew's attitude anymore. He had told her he was grateful Ross was away in Europe because then it felt like he could breathe again. His jealousy over their friendship had gotten worse when Ross had returned back, which didn't make much sense to Laura since Ross had a girlfriend.

If only Andrew knew about her past with Ross, then he'd probably be even more pissed and jealous over her friendship with him.

"Right this way," She heard, her head snapping up, she noticed Ross was leading the short line to her table. Her eyes filled with tears, but she bit her lip hard to keep them away.

She hadn't seen him since the summer concert.

And he looked way different.

"Laura." He said, softly.

"Ross." She said, just as softly.

And, without another word, she got up to hug him, practically running into his outstretched, widely opened arms. She hugged him tight, her eyes squeezing shut as he just hugged her back, just as tight and just as emotionally.

"I missed you." She whispered.

"I missed you too." He whispered back.

And then after what felt like hours, but was really just a few seconds, they broke apart.

"You okay?" He quietly asked her. She wanted to cry at the fact that he still knew her so well, to the point that when she felt anxious or like she was going to cry, he could sense it. Andrew was too self centered for that. "You have tears in your eyes."

She wiped them away and softly laughed. "I'm just… I'm happy." She giggled softly and then hugged him again. They broke apart for the second time and with that, went to take their seats.

Rydel gave Ross an encouraging shoulder squeeze as he sat down beside her, Laura on his other side. Across from him sat Courtney and to her left, Ellington. Andrew was on her other side, which Ross was grateful for, because then it meant he didn't have to deal with him being so close to him.

"Well, should we order?" Courtney broke the silence and just like that, everything was fine.

* * *

"Don't you remember, Calum was squeezing the alien head or whatever it was and it exploded on his face? Without warning?" Laura was clutching her stomach, she was laughing so hard as Ross told everyone the story of a prank he and Laura pulled while filming one of the many episodes of Austin and Ally. Ross continued, "he was so shocked. It was great." Laura held her hand up and he high fived it.

"He got us back though." Laura shook her head, the memory flashing through her mind. "That was pretty epic."

"And scary." Ross added, shuddering at the memory.

Laura giggled, "so many memories on that set." She twirled her pasta with plain marinara sauce-her favorite. Ross had always teased her that it was because she was Italian, but she always shook her head and told him that it was because she just liked pasta a lot.

"Marshmallow war?" Ross said.

Laura smiled at him, "marshmallow war."

"First day on set." Ross added.

She nodded, "and the start of the first of many married couple fights." She reminded him.

He smiled at the memory, "yeah, where you insisted that I ate most of the ammo, but I just denied it like crazy. I think that was the first time we ever made Calum and Raini uncomfortable."

"Well, do you blame them?" Ellington asked, "when you two fight, it's like World War Three."

Rydel nodded, "they used to purposely do it, to make everyone around them uncomfortable, it was their thing." She smiled, but said nothing more.

"Wow," Courtney spoke, "it seems like you two have loads of insiders."

"Insiders?" Andrew raised an eyebrow, "what the hell is that?"

"Inside jokes." Rydel told him.

"Obviously." Laura rolled her eyes.

Ross raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything else.

"Well, enough about Ross and Laura's memories," Andrew said, "do you remember, Laura, when we went skiing last year with my family?"

Laura nodded, "yeah, I almost froze to death."

"As bad as it was when you were in Colorado with us?" Ross asked her.

Laura shook her head and rolled her eyes, "you were the one that pushed me in the snow."

Ross' mouth dropped open, "I did not! You were just in the way of my sled trail."

"You made me fall flat on my face!" Laura pointed her finger at him. "There wasn't even a warning! It was just, 'oh hey Laura, not to bother you or anything, but I'm about to kill you with my sled!"

"Bro! Not even!"

"Oh yeah?" Laura raised an eyebrow, "what about later, when you almost killed me with your tube and then your snowboard fell out of the car and almost knocked me unconscious, it was like your shit was out to get me."

Ross laughed and then shook his head, "whatever man."

"Well," Courtney spoke again, "Rydel, I see what you mean about the married couple thing and feeling uncomfortable."

"Yeah, I do." Andrew agreed.

Ross and Laura blinked and then turned away from each other.

"Sorry, we just, get lost in it sometimes, I guess." Laura sighed and looked over at Ross who just looked over at her. He nodded and with that, they continued their dinner.

* * *

"How was tour?" Andrew asked, "we've got three fifths of your band here, so I'm curious."

"Epic." Ellington answered.

"Amazing." Rydel added.

"Unforgettable." Ross said.

Laura, meanwhile, was just surprised that Andrew was so interested. It actually made her happy. She smiled at him and he smiled back at her, whether it was genuine or not, she couldn't even tell.

"I was there for the majority of it, it was great. We toured around some of the cities, Venice was memorable." Courtney smiled, "the canals were beautiful."

Ross didn't want to admit that he thought of Laura the whole time, being that her father was from Italy, but he just nodded. "Riding in them was great."

"We just did the Venetian canals in Vegas," Ellington began, "pretty damn cool, but not the same as actually being in Venice."

Rydel agreed, "but still, kind of romantic."

"Oh most definitely." Ross agreed, smiling at his girlfriend who smiled back at her.

Laura felt her stomach drop and tried to let it show.

What she didn't know was that Ross was feeling the same way towards the smile she had just given Andrew.

"Walking around Paris was so magical," Courtney continued, "Ross and I even went to adventure on our own and I forget what country it was, but we found a castle there and we explored. It was so amazing."

"Oh was it?" Laura asked, her tone not so friendly. She turned to Ross, "do you remember when we were in Australia and we went to adventure and explore on our own?"

He nodded, "yeah, that was fun." He agreed. He leaned in close, so he could whisper, "what the hell has gotten into you?"

"Nothing," She whispered back.

He looked he didn't believe her, but backed off.

She was grateful for that.

"What have you two been up to?" Rydel asked, Laura and Andrew.

"Well, I went to a lot of her photo shoots, you know this girl doesn't stop? She was writing an essay for a midterm in between shots." Andrew responded.

"He brought me a lot of coffee that night." Laura laughed and then it was Ross' turn to feel that punched in the gut feeling.

"You don't even drink coffee," Ross told her.

"Well, since becoming a university student, I've changed my mind." Laura responded.

"Since when? Like a month or two ago?"

"Does it matter?" Andrew asked him. "She drinks coffee now, what's the big deal?"

"Nothing, nothing's the big deal." Ross responded and then without a word, he abruptly stood up. "Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

"What the hell, Ross?" Laura said, but he had just turned away from her and walked in the direction of the bathrooms. She looked at Rydel helplessly.

"I'd go after him, but I think you should," She told her. She winked her but Laura was still confused.

"I agree." Courtney said. "You know him better than anyone else."

"You're his girlfriend," Laura argued.

"And you're his best friend." Courtney argued back.

Laura nodded and with that, she went after Ross.

* * *

She found him by the bathrooms.

"What the hell is your problem?" She demanded as soon as she walked up to him in the hallway. She ignored the few people that were there.

"I don't have a problem." Ross told her.

She closed her eyes tight and tried not to scream. Ross just rolled his eyes and walked passed her, towards the front entrance where he slammed open the door. She rushed after him and then they were suddenly standing in the cold. Ross reached into his pockets and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Then, she watched in disbelief as he pulled one out and then lit it, sucking and then blowing out the smoke.

"What the fuck?" She said.

He looked at her, surprised. "you curse?"

She ignored that, since she'd been cursing all night. Clearly, he'd missed it. And the last two years of her doing it as well.

"Since when do you smoke?" She asked.

He shrugged, "since a while ago. Where have you been?"

"Weed's different."

"Says you?" Ross asked, "does your goody two shoes boyfriend know you're not as straight edge as he thinks you are?"

"I'm sure your girlfriend knows all about your weed habit." Laura responded back.

"You avoided the question."

"And you're a douche."

Ross sighed, "we're not going to get anywhere with all this arguing. Why did we even agree to do this dinner anyways?"

"It was going great for a while." She reminded him. "Then you had a bitch fit over the news that I'm now a coffee drinker."

"If you're looking for an apology, you're not getting one," Ross took another hit of the cigarette.

She glared at him. "What's your problem?"

"You." He responded back.

"I'm your problem?" Laura asked and he nodded, that only made her more pissed off. "You're the one that screwed everything up so if anything, I should be the one who's pissed off."

"Whatever." Ross responded back.

This was a side of Ross she had always hated. He was always very closed off, very angry about something and very secretive and private. Whenever he was, he usually acted like a complete ass, but once he said whatever it was he needed to say, it was all okay again. Even though she had learned about the true reason why he was that way (he had a mental disorder that he didn't want as public knowledge), she still hated when he was this way, especially when he knew he could trust her more than anybody else.

"Fine, then when you want to talk, you come find me. Until then, don't." She backed away from him, but he just shook his head and without warning, grabbed her wrist, just as she turned around. He pulled her with him until they stopped in a dark alley way. "Ross, what are you-" Then before she could say another word, his lips were on hers and he was kissing her fiercely. She quickly responded back, her lips pressing against his harder as her fingers ran through his hair until her hands were on his neck and she was holding him as close as she could so the they could keep doing what they were doing.

After about a minute, they broke apart and just breathed heavily, staring at each other.

"What was that? I-" Laura began just as Ross shook his head.

"Sorry."

And before she could say anything else, he was gone.

* * *

Dinner had ended pretty okay, much to their surprise. Ross had assured everyone that he was okay and Laura had come back a few moments later, stating that she had to pee and was waiting in a long line. Ross noticed she had fixed her hair and make-up but didn't say anything about it.

The kiss was very much on both their minds as they said goodbye to each other.

"So, that was awkward huh?" Andrew asked as he walked Laura up to the front door of her house. The car ride had been silent, other than the sound of the radio. Laura didn't really feel like talking much and Andrew as just being Andrew.

"What?" She said absentmindedly shaking her head. "I didn't hear you."

"That was awkward." He repeated.

"What was? The dinner or the car ride here?" She asked him.

"The entire night." Andrew responded back. "First you're anxious about it and then everything just gets weird when you two do your little married couple thing and after that you two get legit pissed at each other for whatever reason and then it's just awkward for the rest of the night."

"Okay, so what's the big deal? We hadn't seen each other in weeks."

"The big deal is Ross, if we're going to be together then you can't see him anymore." Andrew told her.

"He's my best friend, you can't do that." Laura shook her head. "you are not the boss of me!"

"I'm your boyfriend-"

"Yeah and all you've done is control every second of my life since we've started dating!" Laura yelled at him. "I'm tired of not being myself around you, you know who I am? Do you at all?" Andrew stayed silent. "I'm not as straight edge as you think I am, Andrew. I've gotten drunk before, I've smoked weed with Ross and his band before, I've gone on tour with them and I've experience the rockstar life. Okay? I've stayed up late nights partying and I don't regret a second of it. I loved it! I miss it and since I've started dating you, everything I've ever enjoyed has just gotten thrown to the side because we always have to do what you want to do and I'm fucking tired of it!" She was breathing hard by the end of her rant and glaring at him. He was staring right back at her.

Then after a few moments of tense silence, he finally spoke.

"So, then what do you want to do about us?"

* * *

"We should talk."

Ross looked up from the gear shift and faced Courtney.

He nodded, "okay, then, let's talk."

* * *

Laura lay on her bed, her eyes closed, her ear phones in her ears, her iPod on shuffle. She took a few moments to think about all that had happened in the last few hours and just sighed.

Then, the song came on.

The familiar guitar chords began to play and she felt herself flashback to the memories with Ross, while listening to this song. In his mother's car the day he'd gotten his driver's license, when he found out he had finished all of his credits to graduate, when she had graduated when they had found out they were getting a season three and had been together getting ice cream in anticipation of the news (Raini had group texted them the news along with Calum), when they were cuddled up on her couch together, watching Teen Beach Movie, when she had told him she'd gotten her license, when he told her that their album release was a success and he and the band were going on their first ever world tour, the first time they had kissed for the show and then again, when it was just them, by themselves in her dressing room, when they went on their first date, when he surprised her for their first time, in Australia when he had pointed the camera in her face that he was holding and she playfully smacked it away, when he promised her that no matter what they would be in each other's lives, when he broke down and told her about his mental disorder, and then when he told her he loved her for the first time.

And finally their heated kiss from earlier that night.

She hadn't realized the tears were falling until she wiped the them away. She sat up and looked around her room, the song and her movie memories coming to an end. She pressed the playback button and with that, the song started again.

It was then she realized what she had to do.

Grabbing her jacket and her keyes, she left her room and then rushed down the stairs.

"Where are you rushing off to?"

Laura turned towards her, "I'm going to get my happily ever after."

Vanessa smiled at her. "Go get him."

* * *

Ross sighed as he watched Courtney walk away. Letting his head drop, he ran his fingers through his hair and just thought to himself for a moment.

He wasn't sure if he was ever going to see her again, but that didn't make saying goodbye any easier. They had a lot of memories together and though he didn't want to lose them, he had to. He wanted to be happy, he wanted something more than what he had.

And he was going to finally get it, even if it meant breaking someone else's heart to get there.

He got up and turned towards the door. He put his key inside the door and then opened it, softly shutting it behind him as he walked through the living room and kitchen and into the garage. He pressed the button to open it and turned on his iPhone speaker dock, a familiar song beginning to play.

"So, you hear it too?"

He heard and looked up to see Laura was standing in the entrance to the garage.

"Rydel let me in." She explained and he nodded as she stepped inside. She took a moment to look around, "so this is where you guys wrote all of your songs, huh?"

He nodded. "This is the place."

She looked around a bit more before finally looking at him again, "this song," She began, her voice cracking, "it can't be a coincidence, I heard it too, before I came here."

"And why did you come here?" He asked her.

She leaned beside him against the desk. She shrugged, "I don't know, honestly. I mean, I thought I did, but I'm not sure."

"Well, what do you want?" Ross asked her, softly as he faced her.

She looked up at him, "I want my happily ever after."

He closed his eyes, knowing that he wanted to give it to her more than anything in the world. But their past, their history, it was stopping him.

"What happened that night," She began, "I can't be mad at you for it anymore."

"I fucked up," He said, "I fucked up so bad and I-"

"I forgive you." She said and he looked at her. "You did what you did and it's in the past, we can forget it."

"Forget how badly I hurt you when I promised you forever and then took it back because I was leaving on tour for the next two months? What kind of asshole does that?" He asked her.

"You were going through something, okay? I understand-"

"No!" He shook his head and slammed his hand on the desk. It made her jump, but he just shook his head, his hands going to his hair as he sat down and let his head hang. Much like he was doing earlier. It scared her a bit since it was a major throwback to their past, but she knew she wouldn't run away this time.

"I ran away from you that night because I was scared." She said, her voice breaking, "I was afraid of what you were going to do and I-" She felt her eyes fill with tears. "I didn't want to get hurt. Or, let anything happen to you. Do you remember how angry you were with me because I called your parents?"

He nodded, "yeah, I remember."

"You scared the shit out of me that night, Ross. I thought I was going to lose you and if it meant letting you go then that's what I had to do." She felt herself begin to cry. "I know you promised me forever and then let me go before I let you go, but it's okay. You were sick. Now, you're better, at least to the point that you can function again."

"I told you I hated you and that once I went on tour, I was never going to see you again." He swallowed hard. "I was such an ass."

She shook her head and put her hands on his cheeks to lift his head up so that he could look at her. She then leaned him back enough that she could sit on his lap. She shook her head again and then leaned in close to him, "you're okay. You're fine and that's all that matters to me, Ross, you're everything to me."

"Laura, I-"

She looked at him and then like he had burned her, moved away from him. His hands on her waist, holding her down, stopped her from going any further.

"Laura Marano, you are the first, the last, and the only woman I have ever loved." He said, staring right into her eyes. She bit her lip and then softly laughed, tears spilling over her eyes. She smiled. He smiled back at her. "All those other girls on tour, they meant nothing to me. Courtney… she did mean something to me, but, Laura, she wasn't you."

She looked down, "so what do we do now?" She asked, looking up at him again. "How do we continue on, knowing what happened in the past?"

He shrugged, "we just move forward."

She nodded again, "I was just mad at you for so long that I think I should just let it go and not be so mad anymore," She paused, "so no more mood swings and saying that you hate me or that you never want to see me again?"

"Laura, I will never say anything like that to you again, like I said, I was an ass."

"An ass," Laura began, "that I'm totally and completely in love with."

He smiled and she smiled back, then he leaned in and kissed her, this time, the kiss was soft and gentle and not heated and intense like that last one was.

Laura smiled as they broke apart, "I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss earlier."

"Me either." Ross responded, with a whisper, kissing her again. He stood up, letting her drop down to her feet and then twirled her around, kissing her again.

They broke apart and she bit her lip, her fingers reaching up to touch it. Even after about a year, his kisses still felt the same. Nothing had changed.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you more." He whispered back.

She sighed happily and then he put his hands on her waist, her hands automatically went around his neck as they began to dance together.

"You know, I was thinking…" Ross began, "we should have another marshmallow fight."

Laura laughed, "what?"

He let her go and smirked as he walked a few feet away and then pulled out two marshmallow guns. He then pulled out two bags of marshmallows and gave her a gun and a bag. He held up his and smiled, "this time, I won't eat all the ammo."

Laura smiled as she shook her head and then took one of the bags from him, "don't make promises you can't keep."

"Well here's one," He began, "I broke up with Courtney earlier so that I could stay committed to you. She knew what was up and seemed totally okay with it. She said she could see the chemistry between us and couldn't deny that it was there and that what was best was if we broke up, I agreed, so it was a mutual thing, but anyways. I am making a promise to you that I will keep for the rest of my life. I am not leaving you this time and I won't have a manic episode where I tell you to leave forever. I want you, Laura. I want you in my life until the day I die." He paused, "with you it's forever."

"Do you know," Laura's voice cracked with emotion. "Do you know how long I have been waiting to hear you say that?"

"The last year?" He teased.

She playfully smacked him. Then, she got serious, "just so you know, I broke up with Andrew. It wasn't as mutual, more on my end, but I just, I couldn't deal with him and his controlling personality and his jealousy and he told me to stay away from you, that I couldn't see you again." Her eyes filled with tears. "I couldn't do that, so I broke up with him. I want to be with you, Ross," She leaned in and kissed him, "forever." She whispered.

He took her hand in his, "then forever, we will be."

She smiled, "I've missed you so much Cheesy." He rolled his eyes at the nickname she gave him when they were fifteen and he had mentioned to her that he loved Romeo and Juliet.

"Really? Still?" He whined and she stuck her tongue out at him. She shook her bag of marshmallows. "So, are we going to war or…"

He smirked, "only if you kiss me first."

"Opposing armies do not kiss, Ross." She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, emphasizing her point.

"They do if you're Ross and Laura." He responded back and with that kissed her. She kissed him back, giggling as she did. "What?"

"I finally got my happily ever after." She whispered and with that, kissed him again.

Their marshmallow guns dropped to the ground as he put his hands on her waist and kissed her deeper, her arms going around his neck. Their marshmallow war was quickly forgotten when he moved her to the couch and let her drop, falling on top of her, he kissed her harder as she pulled him closer and kissed him harder and deeper.

That was when he realized he had finally gotten his happily ever after too.

* * *

"So?" Rydel asked as soon as Ross walked into the kitchen the next morning.

"So what?" He asked, teasing her.

"You're happy. What happened?" She asked him.

"What am I not allowed to be happy? You said it yourself, you wanted me to be happy." Ross reminded her.

"Well, yeah, but you're glowing," She pointed out.

He pulled a water bottle out of the refrigerator, turned to her and smiled, "let's just say, I'm finally in a good place. So, thanks, Rydel. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gone for it and taken a chance."

She smiled knowingly, "well, that's what big sisters are for."

"That and epic UNO battles where the wins always go to their little brothers."

Rydel laughed.

"But seriously, thanks Rydel. I mean it." He hugged her and she hugged him back.

She smiled, "anytime."

* * *

"So what happened?" Vanessa asked Laura, who yawned and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, last night, I went to dinner with Ross, his girlfriend and Rydel and Ellington. Oh and Andrew was there too," Laura added. "Ross and I got into a fight and we went outside to talk, I found out his smokes cigarettes, which isn't really a big deal now that I think about it, I mean, I don't want him to get lung cancer or anything but I'm sure it's more of a social thing since he never really smoked before-anyway, we kissed, then I came home and Andrew and I got into a fight, we broke up, I went to Ross', we talked and now we're back together." Laura finished in one breath.

"Wow, that's a hell of a night." Vanessa said.

Laura smiled, "and thanks to you, I finally got my happily ever after. Thanks."

Vanessa smiled, "you're my baby sis, I gotta look out for you, you know?"

She nodded, "thanks again."

Vanessa smiled, "of course."

Laura's phone rang and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw it was Ross calling her. "Sorry, I have to-"

"Go right ahead."

Laura smiled at her again and with that, ran up the stairs and into her room.

A lot had happened in the last twenty four hours, but she wouldn't change it, not for anything. And she knew he wouldn't either.

They were each other's happily ever after.

And they knew it was going stay that way forever, no matter what.

* * *

 _If you made it here than you deserve a cookie, I freaking swear. This is the end, sadly._

 _Okay, so tell me your thoughts! I'm sorry for not updating or posting anything (on here and on twitter), I've just been so busy, it's insane._

 _My fiancé and school are definitely keeping me busy._

 _Hope you enjoyed and tell me your honest opinions._

 _Much love! Xoxo_


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